Saint Peter Port


St. Peter Port is a town and one of the ten parishes on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is the capital of the Bailiwick of Guernsey as well as the main port. The population in 2021 was 19,295.
St. Peter Port is a small town consisting mostly of steep, narrow streets and steps on the overlooking slopes. It is known that a trading post/town existed here before Roman times with a pre-Christian name which has not survived.
The parish covers an area of 6.5 km2. The postal code for addresses in the parish starts with GY1.
People from St. Peter Port were nicknamed "les Villais" or "cllichards" in Guernésiais.

Geography

St. Peter Port is on the east coast of Guernsey overlooking Herm and the tiny Jethou; a further channel separates Sark and surrounding islets such as Brecqhou; Normandy's long Cotentin Peninsula and, to the south-east, Jersey are visible in very clear conditions from some of the town's highest vantage points. The parish borders St. Sampson in the north, The Vale in the north-west, St. Andrew in the west and St. Martin in the south.
The name of the nearest channel is the Little Russel, in which sits the Bréhon Tower; that separating Sark is the Big Russel. Both in width are less than half of Guernsey's greatest length and dotted with coastal rocks and stacks quite near those islands, some of which are narrowly submerged.
;Relief
The land in the north and by the harbour is low-lying but not marshy. In the south, the land gets higher. Grassy, gently terraced cliffs behind sea walls topped by trees characterise the southern part of the coast here. In the north is the more built-up Admiral Park development. To the south of the town lies Havelet Bay and the coastal path which leads to the very pretty Fermain Bay after a walk of about 20–25 minutes.

Toponymy

This is a medieval toponymic formation meaning "port of Saint-Pierre."
Contrary to local belief, the form Saint-Pierre-Port, rather than *Port-Saint-Pierre, is not linked to a modern English influence but reflects the word order characteristic of ancient place names in most of the Normandy region, which is of Germanic and Anglo-Scandinavian origin. This is why Saint-Pierre-Port has the same name as an old Saint Pierre Port, altered in the late 15th century to Saint-Pierre-en-Port.
This type of toponymic compound in -port is still found in Vatteport and Quenneport, etc. The English form Saint Peter Port is a translation of the initial form.

History

Climate

St. Peter Port has an oceanic climate with mild summers and cool winters.

Subdivisions

Saint Peter Port is subdivided into four cantons:
  1. Canton 1 or North Canton
  2. Canton 2 or Canton of the North-West
  3. Canton 3 or Canton of the South-West
  4. Canton 4 or Canton of the South
In addition, the islands of Herm and Jethou belong to the parish, but are not part of any canton. They belong to Electoral district Saint Peter Port South.

Sport and leisure

St. Peter Port has an English Isthmian League club, Guernsey F.C. who play at Footes Lane. The Guernsey Rugby Football Club also play at Footes Lane and compete in National League 3 London & SE.

Media

St. Peter Port is covered by the local television news programmes: BBC Channel Islands News and ITV News Channel TV. Guernsey's two main radio stations: BBC Radio Guernsey and Island FM are based in the town. The local newspaper is the Guernsey Press.

Features

The features of the town include:
The parish of Saint Peter Port hosts:
The following main roads provide important links between St Peter Port and the other parishes:
  • Les Banques
  • Rohais
  • Mount Row
  • Ruette Brayes
  • Fort Road
The following coastal roads are also very important as they provide access to the shops, carparks and the harbour:
  • St George's Esplanade
  • North Esplanade
  • South Esplanade
The principal bus station is located in the parish on South Esplanade. Town Terminus is the terminus for the island's public transport network, where all bus routes on the island terminate.
The parish contains Saint Peter Port Harbour, the island's main port. All ferry services across the rest of the Bailiwick, Jersey, Poole and Portsmouth can be found here, as well as summer-seasonal cruise ships.

Politics

Saint Peter Port comprises two administrative division, St Peter Port South and St Peter Port North.
In the 2016 Guernsey general election in:
Guernsey bank notes feature a number of parish buildings:
  • One pound, the Market and the Royal Court
  • One pound commemorative, the Market and Fountain Street
  • Five pound, the Town Church
  • Ten pound, Elizabeth College
  • Twenty pound, St James concert hall
  • Fifty pound, Royal Court house